It is hot today!!!  I should never have looked at my weather widget to see how hot it is (90 F today!!)....cause now I feel even hotter!!

I have spent the day working on updating my etsy shop appearance.  I got this banner from Everything Etsy  They have some adorable banners and buttons...and they give some great instructions for personalizing them!  Always helpful!!!

And I just finished this for my swap partner on Ravelry

 

Ok...Things Have Got to Change

OK....Now that I remembered how to log in to my blog (always helpful...geez!!!!)  I will try yet again to  be better with posting.

Instead of trying to catch up on what has happened since I last posted....I will just start with today...and maybe at some point I will get caught up (no guarantees!)

This adorable looking cat...you may remember is the "Birthday Kitten" that I had mentioned way back....is now almost a year old (I think July/Aug she will be a year)...anyway...this adorable little monster is resting peacefully in my closet (don't ask, she likes it in there....she is a weirdo!) this morning after bouncing off the walls all freakin' night!!!!  Finally at 4 a.m. I gave up trying to sleep in my room and shut her in the room by herself and my dog and I went to sleep out in the living room!  Let's hope I get more sleep tonight....

Ok enough up the cute little fuzz ball...

This week I have spent lots of time making fun stitch markers to add to my etsy shop.

These ones are Hogwarts House colored ones:

And my favorite Hogwarts ones are....Dumbledore's Lemon Drops :-)

There are more....but will go slow....will post more later.....

Also I have been reading Bon Courage - Rediscovering the Art of Living in the Heart of France by Ken McAdams, who happens to be a member of my church, Stamford Church of Christ.  It has been a good read so far...it is kind of weird to read about someone that you know...it gives the book a whole new perspective.

WOW...last posted 2 months ago?!?!?!

Gee, I really stink at this blogging thing!!

I could blame it on being SOOO busy...course that might not be entirely true.  It is really just because I forget I have a blog :-)

I don't even remember what I have been doing....

Let's see....January started up a new 'term' of HPKCHC...so I have spent time knitting up some projects for that.  In January I actually made my first pair of mittens for Divination class.  The assignment was palm reading....and so we had to figure out what type of palm we had...fire palm, water palm etc....and then craft mittens, gloves, or handwarmers.

And then made my 2nd pair of mittens this month for my Potions class.  The assignment this month was to craft something using a technique that you’ve previously tried and hated, or something you hate the idea of, or using a fiber you despise, to get over your previous dislike for it. Or just to give you an excuse to detail all of the faults of that particular technique/fiber/pattern/etc.  And since I hate the color purple...my 2nd pair of mittens was in purple.

Some of my other projects I used for class assignments:

A baby sweater and a teddy bear for my friend Jen who had her 2nd son back in October.  The sweater was for January's D.A.D.A. (Defense Against the Dark Arts) class and the bear was for January Charms class.

This month I turned in a reversible doll for Charms class.  The assignment was to create an object that changes – examples an egg which turns into a hen/duck, a Cinderella doll whose skirts flip to change between kitchen and palace.

And so these are a Hogwart student in Hufflepuff yellow....and then in purple for House Unity.

  

I also have spent a lot of time working on my Muggle's Study O.W.L. for which I am attempting to make my first adult size sweater.  So far I have almost completed the back and front pieces.  O.W.L.s are projects that are more than a month long...so we have the entire term to finish it.  I hope I can finish this by the end of March.

And then there has been the Ravelrympics 2010...which coincides with the Olympic games.  This time we’re “gathering” in Vancouver, Canada during Feb 12-28, 2010.

Goal: 2 weeks of focused, intense personal & team challenges to tackle while watching the actual Olympics unfold before our eyes.

So even more knitting took place!!  These are some of my projects I submitted for Ravelrympics 2010.

A hat and scarf for Jamie. 

The hat was entered in the Hat Halfpipe event.
The scarf in the Scarf Super-G event.
 
 
 
 
 

 

This hat and Christmas stocking were WIPs (Works In Progress)....so they were both entered in the WIPs Dancing event.

And I was also able to enter my reversible doll in the Skelegurumi event...which was for toys and animuguri.  And the mittens in the Mitten Mogul event. 

So overall...a very productive month for knitting!!

Besides all the knitting....I have read some books...I have also gone to Wellington, FL with my friend Debbie's daughter, Isobel, so that she could do some horseshowing down in FL. 

Spencer, my birthday kitten, turned out to be a girl (didn't find that out until I made an appointment to get 'him' neutered...and 'he' didn't have the right equipment!  So Ms. Spencer was spayed in the beginning of February.  And she is finally venturing out from beneath the bed.  She is very playful (usually all night long!!!) and has even started jumping up on my bed and demanding that I pet her!  She is lucky she is cute!!

And just this weekend, I have decided I would like to try spinning...as in spinning wool into yarn...not spinning, as in something you do at the gym (crazy?!?!?).  So I have ordered my first drop spindle and some fiber and a couple of books....so hopefully next time I remember to blog....maybe I will have some pics of some handspun yarns...

Has been awhile (again) since I posted...just can't seem to get the hang of this "posting regularly" thing :-)

Anyway....let's see....

Been doing lots of dog sitting for my 7 Jack Russels...scarily they don't stress me out so much anymore...I think I have been watching them so much lately that it just seems normal?!?! 

7 Jack Russells should never become a normal thing!!!

And then have also been doing lots of driving and teenager sitting for Izzy.  Her mom had surgery a couple of weeks ago to remove a brain aneurism so has been out of commission for a bit...and probably will be through Christmas as well.  But thank God, she is doing well and recovering quickly! 

So with all this work stuff, sadly I have not had all that much time for knitting or soap making.  I did participate in 3 swaps (HP Crafters, Reducio, and Washcloths & Soap Swap) and was even able to use one of the items I made for one of my swapees as a class in HPKCHP plus managed to finish my O.W.L. for this term as well.  The House Cup has ended for this term...and we will have a little break before the next term....hopefully I will be able to be more productive for this next term.

This is my HP Crafters Swap package that I recieved.

The first one is the entire package...the 2nd photo is a close up of all the knitted items...so cute!!

And this is a picture of the Reducio Swap #8 package that I recieved.

The swaps are great fun...I really enjoy participating in them.  Unfortunately, this round I was just way too stress and then was sick over Thanksgiving to fully enjoy it...but turned out ok.  And my spoilees seemed to enjoy their packages that I sent them...so all was not bad :-)

And the BESTEST NEWS is that I got a kitten for my birthday!!!!

This is Spencer (and Izzy) the Birthday Kitten!!!

My Tribute to Fall

My tribute to fall this year, has been working on this adorable scarecrow and these pumpkins.  Both projects which I turned in as homework assignments for the HPKCHC class assignments on Ravelry.  The scarecrow was for my Herbology assignment.  The assignment was as follows:

This month’s project revolves around the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Garden Pests (and helpers). A garden does not exist in a vacuum and a good herbologist has learned how to keep unwanted visitors away from their precious gurdyroot, puffapods, and screechsnap. KNOW YOUR ENEMY!!! Your task is to create something that identifies a garden pest, demonstrates a way to prevent pests, or aid you in getting rid of said pests. Your post should contain what pest/helper you’re after, why it’s a pest/helper, and how your project relates to it. And of course - PICS!

The pumpkins were for my Defense Against the Dark Arts (DADA) assignment, which was as follows:

Welcome to our first class on Necromancy!

In honor of Halloween this month, let’s focus on the connection points between the worlds of the living and the dead. To complete this month’s assignment, make something that is inspired by: 1) an historical figure that is now deceased 2) an undead creature (zombie, vampire, skeleton, ghost, etc.), or 3) both (now would be the time to make that Zombie Abe Lincoln) Bonus points, as always, for house colors or making me laugh.
Note: Projects may be inspired by a deceased historical figure or undead creature. They don’t have to be actual representations of them.

And since I had such a good time putting together the research for this project I have to include it here as well :-)

sandyvern, 2nd year Hufflepuff, turning in my assignment.

My assignment is based on The Great pumpkin , who is an unseen character in the Muggle comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz

The Great pumpkin is a holiday figure (comparable to Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny) that seems to exist only in the imagination of Linus van Pelt. Every year, Linus sits in a pumpkin patch (apparently the same one every year, though one year he and Snoopy were caught on a privately owned pumpkin patch, and perceived by the owner’s daughter as crazy) on Halloween night waiting for the Great Pumpkin to appear. Invariably, the Great Pumpkin fails to appear, and a humiliated but undefeated Linus vows to wait for him again the following Halloween.


According to Linus, on Halloween night, the Great Pumpkin rises out of the pumpkin patch he deems the most “sincere”. The Great Pumpkin then flies through the air to deliver toys to all the good little children in the world. Apparently, one can cause the Great Pumpkin to pass him or her by merely saying “if he comes”, as opposed to “when he comes”. This could mean that the Great Pumpkin is likely to pass by anyone who doubts his existence.

The Difference Between The Great pumpkin and Santa Claus
According to Linus, when writing to the Great Pumpkin , you don’t ask him to bring you anything specific: you wait for whatever he brings you. In this way, Linus states a difference between the Great Pumpkin and Santa Claus (children writing to Santa include in their letters lists of exactly what they want). Also, Linus states that Santa gives away toys because it’s his job and it’s expected of him, whereas the Great Pumpkin gives away toys because he feels he is fulfilling a moral obligation.

My research facts comes from Wikipedia, but my original inspiration was from my childhood memories of watching the animated special of It’s the Great Pumpkin , Charlie Brown every year during the Halloween season (way before you could buy copies of it on video or dvd to watch whenever you wanted)

Beautiful Fall!

I have been meaning to add a post mentioning how beautiful it has been this fall!  I keep finding myself saying "oh, how pretty!" while driving around during the day.  I can't imagine living in an area where the leaves don't change in the fall.  Fall is my favorite time of year.  All seasons have there moments when things are so pretty...but for me I think fall is the best.  And this year in particular, I think the colors have been great.  I spend lots of time driving around...whethter it is going to different houses to take care of animals or driving around my friend's daughter, who I usually take to school and pick her up, as well as take her to the barn.  So I spend lots of time in the car.  And I am sure Isobel is tired of hearing me say, "oh, how pretty!"  Even on rainy days (which we have had plenty of) the colors are so vibrant....lots of reds, yellows and oranges...and even pink!  Yesterday, while driving to the barn, on a couple of the little back roads that we go on, there were these bushes (have no idea what they are) but about 4 or 5' high and quite a lot of them (at least on one particular road) that I couldn't help notice the pinkness of both sides of the road....so pretty! :-) 

I love to drive on little roads where the tree branches over hang the road so that it feels like you are driving in a tunnel of color....always makes me smile.  And to be fair, I enjoy it just as much in the spring time...after a long winter of bare tree branches, when the leaves start coming out and filling in...it is a tunnel of green-ness and shade.  And then there are the trees that are in the process of turning...where some of the leaves are still green and some are turning yellow and some orange...such pretty blending of the colors.  You can't help but think that God is such a wonderful artist with all these colors around :-)

As usual, it has been awhile since I last posted.  That doesn't necessarily mean I have nothing to post about...just means I have no discipline and can't seem to get myself to post :-)

Anyway...let's see...I have been busy dog sitting...I think I mentioned last post that I was dog sitting for a customer/friend who has 7 Jack Russells.  And that actually took a good portion of my time this month...I think I dog sat for her just under 2 weeks (YIKES!!!) and even sat for them again just yesterday.  Thankfully it was just for the day.  Sadly, I have spent so much time with them that I almost think it isn't that crazy anymore (ALMOST).  They are all very cute...and all have very distinct personalities...and are just all very funny most of the time.  Course, then there is the obnoxious barking at the door everytime they want to go out and I am quickly reminded of the insanity!

I have also been knitting (of course)...been working on a baby sweater for a friend of mine that just had her second baby boy.  And got it in my head to make a scarecrow for one of the HP classes on Ravelry....which I have finally put together yesterday.  He isn't quite done, I have few finishing touches to add...but he is really cute!!  Also made a couple of pumpkins that I will probably use for a class as well.  I would probably get more accomplished if I didn't have so many projects going at once...but I get easily distracted and can't help starting another project before I finish others.

Ok....well....headed to the park for a walk....enjoying the fall weather....will finish later....